Untold Darkness
by NotSoSpartan
Summary: KH:BBS told from Vanitas' point of view. T for language, may change later. Vanaqua.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, or any of the media related to it.**

**I decided I was going to replay BBS to write this, so I have to play through Terra's, Ven's _and _Aqua's stories to progress with writing this. Thanks to that, I can't stop hearing bipity-boppity-boo since I got stuck on Ven's visit to Castle of Dreams. Urgh. Oh well, on with the story!**

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Xehanort told me I needed to come along to the Mark of Mastery test. I don't know why I did, and quite frankly, I didn't care, because he had promised to make it... Amusing.

They had all been so preoccupied with their little play fighting, trying to prove that they were capable of wielding a keyblade better than a child, which quite frankly, they couldn't. Terra and Aqua were the names of the pair who were qualified to attempt, while Ventus, the one Master Xehanort and I were really interested in stood and watched.

I was in the shadows, a mere on-looker to the events, while Xehanort provided the fun.

Their master, Eraqus, I believe, stood before them, looking between the pair breifly before beginning his speech. "Today, you will be examined for the Mark of Mastery. Not one but two of the Keyblade's chosen stand here as candidates... but this is neither a competition nor a battle for supremacy - not a test of wills, but a test of heart. Both of you may prevail, or neither. But I am sure our guest, Master Xehanort... did not travel all this way to see our youngest prospects in years fall short of the Mark. I trust you are ready."

The two responded immediately. "Yes," they chorused.  
"Then let the examination begin."

He summoned several balls of yellowish light, floating daintily just above the ground. _Booorrring! _I almost yelled aloud, but I kept my mouth shut. Xehanort, as promised, brought the amusement, strangling the light with shrouds of darkness and shocking those present with the addition. There should have been no darkness here, but that did not stop anything. Terra and Aqua ran at the orbs, slashing at them with their keyblades.

One strayed, though, heading for Ventus. The pair called out in distress, not wanting the boy to be hurt, but he proved that he was not as helpless as they thought by slashing through one of the orbs and destroying it. "Don't worry about me!" He called, smiling. "You two focus on the exam!"  
"But Ven, you're in danger here! The blue haired girl shouted. "Go wait in your room."  
"No way!" He countered. "I've been looking forward to this- seeing you two become Masters. I'm not gonna miss it now!"

No more was within my auditory range, so I settled myself against the wall, deep in a shadow, and watched.

The trio seemed to dance around the room, smashing the dark coated light with their weapons in flurries of what I could only describe as something near skill. They weren't as good as Xehanort, or even me, for that matter, but I suppose they were limited in their choice. The path of light had always been the weaker of the two.

Once they were finished, breathing hard at the effort, Eraqus began speaking again. "That was unexpected... but one must keep a still heart even in the most trying of circumstances. It was an exellent test, one I chose to let unfold." _More like couldn't control._ I thought spitefully. "Which brings us to your next trial."

Two two students nodded, walking to the center of the room. "Now, Terra and Aqua, the two of you will face each other in combat. Remember, there are no winners- only truths, for when equal powers clash, their nature is revealed."

They fought; a boring, almost annoying affair. Until Terra's hand became consumed with darkness. It coiled and writhed around his hand, inviting him to indulge in the true power we could possess, whispering tales of conquest and victory in his ear as it had to me so many times in the past, but the idiot dismissed it and continued his fight unaided. _Fool._

When the fight ended, Eraqus and Xehanort came to a decision. The girl had the Mark, while the boy had no control. He was devastated, from the look on his face, and I only found that all the more hilarious.

His friends tried to comfort him, but it didn't work. The look on his face said everything.

Quickly, so that Xehanort didn't know that I had been watching, I slipped from the room and into a nearby hallway, where he had ordered me to meet him after the test.

"What do you make of Ventus?" He asked as he made his way towards me.  
"He ain't gonna cut it," I retorted, my mask at my side as I stared off down the corridor. It was the truth. He was too... Light. The darkness would have trouble latching onto him. "Somebody's gotta break that loser in.""Not here, you won't," he warned, "I have to keep up appearances." I smirked, the notion that I would act now, while his friends surrounded him, amusing me.  
"I know that. He just needs a little incentive to leave home."

With that said, we continued along the hallway towards the courtyard, where Xehanort would make his exit, and I would go on a little visit to a certain Keyblade wielder.

I found him in his room, holding a wooden monstrosity that was made to look like a Keyblade above his head. Into it's handle was the name _Terra,_ suggesting that it was a second-hand piece of garbage. I would bide my time, I decided. He would no doubt want to leave, to see Terra off when he left as he so predictably would, so I would make my move then. Stall him, to make him miss Terra if possible.

A bell chimed, deep and commanding in tone, spurring the blond haired apprentice into action. "Better hurry, Ventus," I muttered, leaning against a chest of drawers in his childish, cluttered room.

He halted in the doorway, turning on his heels to regard me with a suspicion in his eyes. "Huh? Who are you?" _Sorry, but I'll dodge that question._  
"Or you'll never see Terra again." That should distract him.  
"What? Get real," he snapped, but he had already stepped into my trap. "I can see Terra anytime I want." The tone was childish, spiteful - just as I had expected.  
"Like right now?" I tested. "He's leaving you behind. And by the time you catch up... he'll be a different person."

"Look-" he was becoming more aggressive, defensive, almost. "Whoever you are- you don't know the first thing about Terra. Me and him will always be a team. You trying to pick a fight or what?" He began brandishing the make-shift piece of rubbish, as if he expected he could defeat me with it. I chuckled inside my mask, not letting him see, before pushing away from the drawers and walking across the room.  
"Oh, grow up," I advised, stopping in front of something that looked like a glowing blue globe. "Is that what you call friendship? You'll never know the truth unless you go out and look for it yourself." I turned to look at him, noticing only now the strange way he held the Keyblade. That wouldn't do for when we eventually became one. I would have to override that.

We stared at each other for a second, the tension between us rising, before I cut the silence. "Come on, what could you possibly know when you're stuck here, looking at nothing but what's in your tiny world?" Seed of intent laid, I opened a portal in the space in front of me and walked through it, disappearing from the once idyllic school and leaving it torn, in a way that only those who needed to could see.

They would realise too late what I had done, so would have no way to stop me.

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**Please R&R! I love hearing opinions of my work!**


	2. Chapter 2

I emerged from the portal alongside Master Xehanort, on the bridge to the Castle of Princess Aurora. Those among us who could traverse the Lanes Between tended to call this place Enchanted Dominion, seeing at there was so much more than the sleeping beauty here. "Vanitas," my Master commanded, turning to look at me as he did. "I want you to create something for me."  
"What might that be, Master?"  
"Creatures." I paused, waiting for more information, but he gave none.  
"What... Type, of creatures, Master?""Creatures of pure darkness and raw emotion, my boy! And, if possible, make unique ones for each of the worlds we infect with them. It will keep those who pursue us busy."  
"Yes, Master," I agreed, before turning and running into the forest. I would need to concentrate to do this correctly.

Once there, I sat in a clearing, surrounded by rocky hills and the sounds of wildlife, green grass undulating beneath me. Behind the mask, I closed my eyes, concentration on making a shape out of the darkness that resided there.

The first was crude, small, and rather pathetic, blue in colour with red eyes. Though, to it's credit, it was quite fast and could make itself into a puddle at whim. "I'll try that again..." I mused, closing my eyes once more and imagining a second being.

This one was better. It was more soldier-like, stronger, and more sentinent. I was getting better at creating these beings, and they were growing stronger with each creation. For good measure, and more amusement on the behalf of our pursuers, I decided to create some that could only be found in certain worlds, and others that were gigantic and difficult to kill. The first was a spindle-like being, designed for whom-so-ever wanted to free Sleeping Beauty from her slumber.

"That should do it," I mumbled to myself, before standing and brushing the dirt and grass from my clothing. Xehanort would expect me to stay and wait for further orders, so that was exactly what I did... Except for a small amount of sight-seeing.

It really was quite a pretty forest - unlike anything I had seen in the Keyblade Graveyard or any of the few other places I had been permitted to travel to. Streams ran from rock, a concept I had thought impossible before witnessing it with my own eyes, and trees grew to staggering heights all around me. It was nature at it's finest, or at least, I assumed as much.

As I walked, I wondered where else I would be taken in the journey ahead, what other sites I would see, but I quickly brought myself back to the more realistic side of my mind.

I returned to the clearing I created the Unversed in - that was the name I had chosen for the creatures - and immediately saw Master Xehanort walking towards me from the direction of the castle. "I have seen what you have made, Vanitas. Some are... quite unique."  
"Thank you, Master."  
"But others are weak. Was that intentional?" Xehanort snapped. I had seen this coming.  
"We have to give them a chance, at least. make them think they can stop us. A smirk spread across his face.  
"Good... That should make this interesting."

A portal of darkness opened before us at Xehanort's whim, the shadows of a strange place dancing and wavering within. It was The Badlands. "Master, why are we going there?"  
"_We_ aren't. You are to observe those three - pick out their weaknesses for exploitation," he explained, and disappeared into the portal.

I would have to find somewhere to observe them from for now, seeing as I could use the portals to spy on them from afar, but where could I go?

Suddenly, an idea struck me. I would hide in plain sight, as was always the best plan. _The Land of Departure..._ I thought darkly. It was the perfect place, the blend of irony and obliviousness just right to have them kicking themselves when they found out. I guess you can have fun even when you're not really doing anything.

With that decided, I opened my own portal, this time to the Land of Departure, and stepped through it.

I stayed there for a time, sat in an alcove not far from the residence where the training took place, with thee portals open, one for each. I watched as Terra fought both darkness and my creations, as Ventus defended the honor of his friends, and Aqua searched desperately for the two people she loved most in the world. It was odd, watching them, since they all seemed to similar to one another... There were quirks to each of them, though, and some of the most fascinating were with the girl.

She moved with such grace and determination, keeping a hard look on her face for the benefit of those around her, but inside, she was terrified, running around and picking up the pieces... She was wonderful. I wondered whether I should report to Xehanort, to see if we had chosed the right trainee for the making of the X-blade, eventually deciding to at least report what I had seen to the bald man.

I opened a portal to The Badlands, hoping he was still there, and stepped through.

Unfortunately, I had been distracted upon opening the portal, the blue haired girl's face fleeting in my mind, and instead ended up in the Lanes Between. "Shit," I cursed, taking a look around to get my bearings. I seemed to be near Enchanted Dominion, by the look of it, but I was not quite sure.

Just as I got my bearings, the annoying blond-haired child burst from the world on his ridiculous glider, that the trio had open of each, speeding towards me without even knowing it. _I don't have time to deal with him here,_ I thought, speeding away from him and towards my original destination.

If he followed, I would test him. See if he was as good a fighter as I had managed to gauge from watching him struggle past my minions. That could kill some time, actually, while I wait for his friends to progress.

I landed lightly on the dry, cracked earth of the graveyard, booted feet kicking up plumes of dust around them. Xehanort was no where in sight, so I waited.

It wasn't long before the glint of something on the horizon caught my eye. He had followed.

The glint swooped down, disintegrating high above the ground only for the blond boy to drop from it, landing in a way not dissimilar to how I had. "Where's he hiding?" he muttered. He had no idea he was standing in front of me.

I saw him start, as if for some reason suspicious, before turning on his heels to glare at me. "All right!" He yelled, "What did you mean about Terra being a different person?" I smiled behind the mask, walking slowly towards the frowning child.  
"Exactly what I said, idiot. The Terra you know will be gone forever."

The frown deepened, hands curling into fists and moving in time with his speaking as he shouted, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"  
"Stupid, or true," I mused aloud. Shock registered on his face.

I laughed to myself from within the mask, too quietly for him to hear, before holding out my arm to summon my Keyblade. It was made up of fragments of black gear, lined with red and all held together by a section of sliver metal with two, gleaming cyan eyes, one near the handle, the other near the blade. In it's center was a golden gear.

"A keyblade?" He asked in disbelief. It stared blankly for all of a second, before adopting an offensive pose and gritting his teeth, ready to summon his own weapon.  
"Good," I said as the blade appeared. "Let's see what you're made of."


	3. Chapter 3

Blades clashed, ringing against each other with every blow. I would give him one thing, he was good at countering, but there was little else I could say in the ways of compliments. I had thought him fast, from watching him fight my Unversed, but it turned out he wasn't even as fast as me.

The exchanges continued for some time, neither of us managing to land a significant blow until I could feel the perspiration prickling at the back of my hairline. It was that moment that he lost his footing, breaching his own defenses.

I slashed at him, sending him hurtling backwards to land in a heap and skid back towards the high mountains that surrounded us. He was pathetic, much to my disappointment. I had been hoping for a good fight, not an endurance test.

I smirked behind my mask, walking towards his fallen form. "That really all you got?" I asked, keeping the laughter from my voice. "Man, you are worthless." I stopped a few feet in front of him. "I'd be going against the Master's orders, but so what? As far as I'm concerned, your job here is done."

He struggled and writhed on the floor, trying to get the energy together to stand, but failed. I had lifted my Keyblade in the time he had struggled, building my energy at its tip before thrusting it skyward. Darkness and light pulsed and undulated around the gear at its tip, compressing and building in destructive force. The more energy that went into it, the bigger it got, and the wider my smile grew.

Once it was big enough, I thrust the blade down, shooting the orb at Ventus.

It spiralled towards him, glowing and shimmering as it did, before smashing into the ground around him. The area burst into flames of blue, purple and turquoise, each fighting for dominance but neither quite winning. _Xehanort might be pissed at me, but that guy wasn't worth the effort. _I thought to myself.

Black char marks scarred the earth before me. Ventus was dead.

"Don't worry! You're safe." That voice wasn't supposed to be here! What was that meddling mouse doing in The Badlands!?

I turned to look for the menace, finding not far away from me. He way laying Ventus' body on the ground, perhaps in some effort to help him recover. Before I could do much else, the rat summoned his Keyblade to the fray, using it to heal the blond.

Green light shimmered around him, sparks of yellow zipping all over, before he stirred and propped himself up. He stared at the mouse, a significant look passing between them, before the latter jumped around and bounded forward. "Tell me where you got that!" Mickey demanded. "Keyblades are not something you use just to bully somebody around! Here, I'll show ya!"  
"We both will," Ventus chimed in. He had gotten to his feet as Mickey shouted at me.

The nodded to each other, focusing once more on me, and I couldn't help but be amused. _Perhaps I will get to have some fun after all._

Fighting both of them was decidedly more challenging, considering that while I was hitting one, the other was normally trying to hit me. To top it all off, they would sometimes combine their power, normally in defense of the idiotic mouse, and spin back to back while their blades spewed magic that burned and froze at the same time. It was a horrible sensation, but I knew I had to fight through it. At the end of their spinning trick, the would burst up and apart, sending stay clumps of the magic in every direction, before resuming their assault.

It was a long and arduous fight, with the winner being unpredictable until the final moments.

I fired spheres of lava at Ventus, hoping to hit him while the mouse was unable to move thanks to an earlier blow. They were heat seeking, meaning they would follow him to a degree, and I was confident that I would not miss my mark.

But, just as they were about to hit, he dodged to the side, turning away from them and around the back, forcing them to hit the ground. However, he had noticed how close I was, and turned the slight turn into a three hundred and sixty degree one, pushing off the ground as he faced me again and slamming the blade down.

It hit the top of my head, reverberating through the mask but not cracking it, and forcing me onto the floor. I lay there, replaying the last moment in my mind, wondering how it had happened.

From the way they looked over me, I presume they thought me dead. They were by no means so lucky.

With one, swift movement, I moved my legs, using the momentum gained to push my body back and my shoulders into the ground, then pushed myself back onto my feet with the last of my strength.

The blanched, drawing their Keyblades back, but I didn't move. "Hmph, you win." I said, amusement in my tone. Before they could respond, I summoned the darkness once more. "Consider yourself on probation," I muttered, before stepping back and into the portal to transport my self to a different part of the Graveyard. I would need to report this to Master Xehanort.

I reappeared by his side, deeper in the rocky terrain. He had been watching Terra with interest, by the look of the portal he had opened, and was finding that the boy had potential. "I have called Terra to me," Xehanort said, before I had chance to say anything. "So he should be in the Lanes Between as we speak. You cannot be with me when he arrives. Wait here." I nodded, and another portal opened, taking him to where I had just fought Mickey and Ventus.

He was back within minutes, claiming to have had only a conversation, nothing more. I tended to believe him, seeing as he knew me better than I did, but I had a feeling that the topic of conversation was not a light one.

"So, why is it that you have come to me, Vanitas?" He demanded.  
"I have come to report my findings from observing the three." A wicked smile spread across his face, yellowed teeth bared.  
"Good! Good! What have you found?"  
"Terra is the strongest," I began, recalling what I had witnessed, "With devastating attacks that can destroy my Unversed in only a few hits. Second is Ventus-"  
"As expected," he interrupted, before urging me to continue.  
"He is a good fighter, fast too, but not as fast as me. I fought him briefly, and would have beaten him if not for interference. Last is Aqua-"  
"Yes, yes, Vanitas, very good. I need not know about the girl, though. She is but a complication. Speaking of, I would like you to eliminate her from the equation. It will make the task I have set Terra more believable, and push him to be less forgiving in it. Now go."

I bowed to my Master, the man who had wrought me from the darkness in Ventus' heart. He opened a portal to a place that looked not unlike a city, with towers and gardens and plazas galore. "That it Radient Gardens. Destroy its light."  
"Yes, Master."

I walked through the portal, and into the city of light.

Ventus was already present, I could feel it, and one of his friends. I couldn't tell which one, but that didn't matter. They would both end the same way. I instead turned my attention to creating a new Unversed for the trio, to draw them all together so that I could assess their joint power. I had already thought of a name. It would be called Trinity Armour, and consist of three parts, one to lure each.


	4. Chapter 4

The Unversed was finished, each part able to function both seperately and as one. It towered high above me, like the castle in the distance from Enchanted Dominion had, and I couldn't help but lift my mask to regard it properly. It was my greatest creation to date.

I closed the mask again hastily, wary that anyone might see my face and notice the resemblance to Ventus. I could not let that happen. Not yet, anyway.

I sent the sections away, ready to disrupt the trio, before settling myself atop one of the towers of the castle in Radient Gardens, ready to open my spyglasses and watch the three Keyblade wielding heroes. It would be an interesting sight.

Terra was the first to arrive, seeing my creation only in it's three component parts rather than the whole. The look on his face said it all, though. This was not a challenge to be taken lightly. It wasn't long before the other two arrived, Ventus and Aqua arriving at the same time from different locations, prompting my Unversed to assemble itself.

Their faces dropped for all of a second, and I thought I had them - but I was wrong. All they did was steel themselves and prepare to fight, all three Keyblades making an appearance. The blinding light of their summoning hurt my eyes, as it always had, and caused me to squint and look away briefly.

By the time I returned to their images, they were already fighting my creation. Between the three of them, they had realised that the only way to defeat it was to attack the arms and legs first, so that was what they did, either by hitting it or using a strange, lock on command that once locked would hit it's target most of the time.

In addition, they seemed to work well as a unit, never accidentally hitting each other, and when they became injured, healing each other when possible. It was amazing to watch, but at the same time, I had a sick feeling in my stomach. _Xehanort wants to fight __**them**__?_I thought to myself, as the first of the tree components burst into green orbs. I had put them there to give them a fighting chance, as a healing object, but I hadn't known that they would barely need them.

As each part fell, I realised their potential as a unit more. Xehanort and I would have no chance against the three of them together. Their efficency and team work would blow our raw power out of the water. "The only way is to tell Master Xehanort to split them up when the time is nigh..." I mused, ready to stand, before I realised there was an argument going on in the three portals before me, each displaying it from a different point of view, so I decided to watch.

"-doesn't sound like what the Master told you to do." The girl said sternly, terning her face to the older boy.  
"It might be a different route," he argued, "but I'm fighting the darkness."I'm not so sure." The doubt in her voice and concern in her eyes were more sincere than I had ever seen. It was captivating, in a strange, sadistic way. "I've been to the same worlds as you and I've seen what you've done." She looked him dead in the eye, the sterness spreading to her face. "You shouldn't put yourself so close to the darkness."  
"Listen to yourself Aqua," Ventus yelled, "Terra would never-"  
"You mean you've been spying on me?" Terra interrupted. The accusative nature of his tone said it all. He didn't like the idea of them seeing what he had done. "Is that what he said to do? The Master's orders?"  
"He was only-" the words choked off, leaving only silence.

Ventus was the first to break it, sighing her name in obvious disappointment, but he had not seen what she had. Not to the same extent. He had seen world only before Terra's appearance or long after his departure. "I get it," the taller boy said, turning and walking away from his friends.  
"Terra!" Ventus yelled, but he cut him off.  
"Just stay put!" Ventus jolted to a halt. "I'm on my own now, all right?"  
"Terra, please!" Aqua begged, "Listen! The Master has no reason to distrust you, really! He was just worried..."

Her words fell on deaf ears, the brown haired boy refusing to even aknowledge her words. But that was not the worst of it. Ventus turned to her once Terra was out of earshot and said, "You're awful, Aqua."

Her face tightened, as did her grip on a star-shaped charm on a piece of lace, before she turned to him. "So now you know the truth," she murmured. "But the Master loves Terra, and you know that too."  
"Were you also 'ordered' to take me home?" He asked, distrusting of her.

She looked away, tears brimming in her eyes. "Aqua..." I thought he would console her, tell her to stop crying, but no. He didn't even notice. "Now that you've become a Keyblade Master, you've let it go to your head. I'm gonna go find Terra."

And with that, he ran off, after Terra, leaving her all alone in the arena where they had fought so well. The hurt on her face said it all. There was no way she could see that she could get the pair back. They were drifting apart, and she could do nothing but watch. "Terra... Ven..."

Once more, she was left to pick up the pieces, and no matter how many times she cut her hands on the broken shards, there would be nothing she could do to put them back together.

I closed all three portals, opening a new one to report to Master Xehanort. He would deffinitely want to know about the goings on here, but I decided that a few bits would be omitted.

The portal showed a few people milling around the main square, which was where I thought he would be, so I waited for it to clear before stepping through.

I had only just stepped through when the blue haired girl came racing from the direction of the old coot, Merlin's house. _Great... I should have know she'd come this way.._

Nevertheless, I halted, and turned to look at her. "A mask! You're the boy that Ventus mentioned," she shouted.  
"Ah yes, Ventus. Tell me something, has he learned to put up a decent fight yet?" I asked. She frowned in confusion, looking slightly taken aback.  
"What do you mean?"  
"I'll be asking the questions,"I snarled in response. There must have still been some residue from the anger I had felt at the way Ventus had spoken to her... "And why shouldn't I? After all, between the two of us..." I tried desperately to cover up the flare of anger, resulting only in a threat. "I'm the only one who will walk away from here alive.

She bared her teeth, the Keyblade flashing into her hand. "Guess again!" She shouted, and I drew my own blade.

This could potentially be very fun... Or very painful, depending on whether my estimations were correct or not.


End file.
